About the Center

In 2004, a strategic planning group begin exploring the concept of a regional LGBTQ+ community center, bringing key stakeholders together and gathering input from community members under the guidance of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC).

In 2006, based on the information gathered from the community needs assessment, the LGBT Community Center Coalition of Central PA was formed, a Board of Directors identified, and a mission statement adopted - all supported by TFEC.

In 2009, the LGBT Center merged with Common Roads, an LGBTQ+ youth-serving organization that had been in existence since 1993, bringing the missions, programs, and operations of the two organizations together as one 501(c)(3) organization.

In 2012, the LGBT Center moved to its current physical location at 1306 N 3rd Street in Midtown Harrisburg. After previously using space at other organizations, this was the Center’s opportunity to have our first space of our own.

Today, the LGBT Center serves over 2,000 people each year across Dauphin, Cumberland, York, and Lancaster counties, and seeks to be responsive to the changing needs of our communities in our programming and our strategic priorities.

Our Vision, Mission, & Values

Vision

To inspire LGBTQ+ people across identities for collective liberation.

Mission

To foster inclusive communities and holistic well-being for LGBTQ+ people

through social, educational, and cultural engagement.

Values in Action

We recognize how interconnected our work in the LGBTQ+ movement must be with other social justice movements, and we unapologetically stand for and with movements seeking justice and inclusion for people of color, documented and undocumented immigrants, refugees, people of all faiths or no faith, women, people living with disabilities, older adults, youth, and people who are low-income. We know that each of these struggles, although unique, are interconnected - and we support justice for all people who are oppressed and marginalized.

Safety: We seek to prioritize the physical, mental, and emotional safety of LGBTQ+ people.

We believe survivors of violence and seek to support their safety and agency.

Respect & Dignity: We value the humanity in each person, and seek to ground our interactions in respect and dignity for people of all identities and experiences.

Intersectionality & Inclusion: We recognize the complex ways that our multiple identities intersect, and the layers of societal privilege and oppression that we experience on an individual, communal, organizational, and systemic level as a result. We seek to understand and challenge our privileges and actively work towards solidarity. We strive to center the voices of and prioritize programs and services for LGBTQ+ people who are most marginalized, committing to be representative of and accountable to those communities.

Collaboration: We seek to work, internally and externally, in a collaborative manner that values feedback, builds partnerships, and operates from a framework of mutuality rather than competition.

Our Policies

The LGBT Center of Central PA strives to put our values into practice as an organization, particularly around safety for our program participants. The following policies and procedures were created in consultation with experts in the field, and approved by the Board of Directors. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@centralpalgbtcenter.org.